In the News
Prince Harry's charity Sentebale
18th March 2008
On Monday 17th March 2008, The Daily Telegraph’s Mandrake column reported that Prince Harry was angry that Sentebale had been able to give only a tiny fraction of the money it has raised to Aids orphans. The charity’s first year accounts showed that it received donations of £1.15m but gave out only £84,000, while spending £250,000 on staff costs, and £86,000 on a website.
Prince Harry is not angry about Sentebale’s first set of financial figures. The Prince understands the importance of establishing Sentebale on the ground in Lesotho and this is where most of the money was spent during the first 18 months (17th March 2006 – 31st August 2007).
The important first step was to establish an office in Lesotho designed to select community based projects for the charity to support; and designed too to give those projects the management help they so desperately need.
By recruiting staff and establishing an office in Lesotho, Sentebale can fulfil Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso’s vision of supporting small community-based projects which really make a difference. The last thing either of them want is for the charity to distribute money fast without proper safeguards.
It is worth bearing in mind that the key problem in Lesotho is not so much the lack of money but the lack of structures to reach the children who most need help. That is why Sentebale has been so keen to make establishment of such structures a priority.
Since these accounts, much more money is now being spent directly on projects. By the end of August, Sentebale will have spent at least a further £225,000 directly on projects – a three fold increase on the previous year.
Click here to find out more about the work of Sentebale.